Former Hyattsville mayor Candace Hollingsworth launched a bid for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor Tuesday.

Highlighting her work in local government, former Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler announced that Hollingsworth would be his running mate in the crowded Democratic primary.

“This is an exciting–and unexpected–journey,” Hollingsworth told the Hyattsville Wire. “I’m looking forward to sharing the great work we’ve done together that has made Hyattsville a wonderful place to live while keeping a sharp eye toward what we need from our state to make us even stronger.”

In a two-minute video posted by the Gansler campaign, the two talk in Busboys and Poets about her time in city government and drive around Hyattsville together. Hollingsworth says the city has changed dramatically since 2009, noting new shops and saying how it has “the best coffee in the state of Maryland.”

Hollingsworth served four years on the city council before being elected mayor in 2015, becoming the youngest to serve in this position and the first African-American mayor in city history.

There are 10 Democrats running in the primary to replace incumbent Governor Larry Hogan. In the few polls publicly available on the race, Gansler is in the middle of the pack.

“I enthusiastically welcome Candace as my full-fledged partner on this team,” Gansler said in a statement. “What she has done to revitalize Hyattsville is a success story that we will strive to replicate all across Maryland.”

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